recipe holder

this feels so simple to me that i cannot even think of it as a real hack

i was watching a video about uses for resealable zip top baggies and this was suggested:

place your recipe in a clear plastic bag on the counter so it doesn't get food spatter on it while you cook.

look, that's snazzy and all, but on the counter? why? my ingredients and mixing bowls are on the counter. there's no extra room on the counter. 

enter: our friend the binder clip

you know the metal wings come off, right?

why  hello, cabinet door pull!

squeeze and snap that sucker back on there, then flip it back up:

voila! eye level recipe protected from spatters.

and that's my great grandmother's spoonbread recipe. deeelicious! 

of course for a larger recipe, like a magazine page cut out or such, use a larger bag. you could probably even use this for a small cookbook, although i might throw a pencil or a wooden spoon handle in the top of the clip to rest along the top of the book and make sure it stays spread open to your page. 

freezer bag portion control

hat-tip to Lunchinabox.net - that blog appears to be fading away and may not be around to link to later, so here's my lazier version of her nifty trick

if you don't already know this one, here's the way i learned to freeze ground beef (sausage, any ground pork/chicken/turkey etc) in portions while only using one large plastic bag. never deal with trying to thaw and use several pounds of ground meat again.



1. place meat in bag. if you intend to season it, this is a great time to add the seasoning and squish it all around without getting your hands or a bowl dirty

ice cream.. mmm: plantain

i've actually never heard of plantain ice cream anywhere but i wanted to make it. i don't especially like bananas but i love plantains. and i've heard good things about freezing bananas to make banana ice cream. well, they're family so i gave it a try. i started with ripe plantains from the store, not green. the green ones would not be nearly as sweet.
when i say ripe plantains, for this it doesn't matter if they have bruises all over. actually i've never found a plantain that bruised all the way through their very thick skins. get a dark yellow one, not a green one for dessert stuff. the riper they are, the more starch has converted to sugar. after you freeze it, it will be even sweeter. you could easily use bananas for this the exact same way.  

minimizing "raw meat hands"

just a little tip for minimizing 'raw meat hands' when mixing meatballs [or meatloaf or sausage blends] this also reduces the dishes you dirty and the exposure of kitchen surfaces to raw meat.

freezer food storage hack

whether i'm buying in bulk or opening a single can of food, i'm still a single person living alone. unless i want to eat the same thing three days in a row constantly, i need to preserve and store food all the time.

tabletop cooking

finally got my metal patio table set up a few weeks ago and was enjoying the last cool weather before summer. metal table = non flammable surface.
i have a lot of things that i can put small fires in. fire is good for making things hot. yay fire! so i did.

first off is fuel. this post is about the burning thing on the right in this picture. i haven't had a lot off success using the mini hibachi yet. so the thing i made my dinner with was actually the ... chicken feeder. that's right, chicken feeder. when i saw it in a thrift store i had no idea what it was. just looked like it would hold fire. it does. REALLY well